CHAPTER THREE
Munich, Germany — 5:47 a.m.
Ayanda Bennett had been awake for almost an hour before her alarm finally rang.
She stared at the ceiling.
Her mind had already begun constructing a list of everything she needed to accomplish before eight o'clock.
She had learned one thing about Adrian Vale in less than forty-eight hours:
His definition of a reasonable workload was completely unreasonable.
She sat up.
"It's just a job."
She paused.
Then sighed.
"An extremely difficult job."
By 6:35 a.m., she was dressed.
By 7:02, she was inside the Veyronis building.
By 7:05, she was already regretting the fact that she had forgotten breakfast.
The private elevator carried her toward the forty-first floor.
When the doors opened, she expected an empty executive floor.
She was wrong.
Adrian was already there.
Of course.
He stood behind the glass wall of his office, speaking to two senior executives.
He noticed Ayanda immediately.
His eyes met hers.
He said something to the men.
They left.
A moment later, his office door opened.
"Ayanda."
"Good morning."
He glanced at the clock.
"Seven minutes late."
She looked at her watch.
"It's 7:07."
"I know."
"You said eight."
"I changed it."
"When?"
"Six minutes ago."
Ayanda stared at him.
"You changed my working hours six minutes before I arrived?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Adrian's expression didn't change.
"Because I needed you earlier."
She inhaled slowly.
"Understood."
He walked past her and placed several folders on her desk.
"Review these."
She looked down.
There were at least twenty.
"By when?"
"Eight."
She looked at the clock.
7:08.
Her eyes returned to him.
"That's fifty-two minutes."
"Yes."
"Are you serious?"
His gaze settled on her.
"Do I look amused?"
"No."
"Then you have your answer."
He turned away.
Ayanda looked at the mountain of paperwork.
Then at his retreating figure.
"Unbelievable."
Without turning around, Adrian said,
"I heard that."
She froze.
Apparently, the man had exceptionally good hearing.
She sat down.
And began working.
7:31 a.m.
Folder one.
Completed.
Folder two.
Completed.
Folder three.
Financial discrepancies.
Folder four.
International correspondence.
Folder five.
A proposed merger.
Folder six.
A legal dispute.
Folder seven—
Her phone vibrated.
Mr. Vale: Conference room. Now.
Ayanda looked at the remaining folders.
Then at the clock.
She closed her eyes briefly.
"Of course."
She walked into the conference room.
Eight executives were already seated.
Adrian stood at the head of the table.
He didn't look pleased.
"Ayanda."
"Yes?"
"Where is the European acquisition report?"
"I haven't finished it."
"Why?"
"You asked me to review twenty other documents first."
Adrian stared at her.
"And?"
"And you called me here."
A few executives lowered their heads.
Ayanda suspected they were hiding smiles.
Adrian noticed.
"Something amusing?"
The smiles disappeared immediately.
He looked back at Ayanda.
"Sit."
She sat.
The meeting began.
For the next forty minutes, she watched Adrian dismantle arguments with frightening precision.
He never shouted.
He didn't need to.
A single question from him could reduce a senior executive to silence.
One director presented a proposal.
Adrian listened.
Then asked:
"Your projected revenue assumes twelve percent growth?"
"Yes."
"Based on?"
"Current market trends."
"Which markets?"
The director hesitated.
"European technology."
Adrian closed the file.
"That's a category, not an analysis."
The director swallowed.
"I can revise it."
"You will."
"By Friday?"
"Tomorrow."
The director looked horrified.
Adrian moved to the next document.
"Next."
Ayanda watched quietly.
There was something almost frightening about his efficiency.
He didn't enjoy humiliating people.
He simply had absolutely no interest in excuses.
When the meeting ended, everyone left quickly.
"Ayanda."
She stopped.
"Close the door."
She did.
Adrian remained seated.
"The acquisition report."
"I'll finish it."
"Before noon."
She stared at him.
"Forty-seven pages?"
"Forty-eight."
She glanced down.
He was right.
"Fine."
He pushed another document toward her.
"Investor briefing."
Another.
"Contract review."
Another.
"Zurich conference call."
Another.
"Board correspondence."
Ayanda stared at the growing pile.
"Anything else?"
"Yes."
He looked at her.
"Cancel my lunch."
"You have a board meeting."
"I know."
"They're expecting you."
"They'll survive."
Ayanda nodded.
"Understood."
She gathered the documents.
As she reached the door, Adrian spoke.
"Ayanda."
She turned.
"Don't confuse a heavy workload with permission to become careless."
She held his gaze.
"I won't."
"Good."
She left.
By 10:16 am, Ayanda was convinced Adrian Vale had declared war on the concept of free time.
Her desk was covered in documents.
Her tablet displayed three different calendars.
Her phone had seventeen unread messages.
Finance wanted revisions.
Legal wanted signatures.
Zurich wanted confirmation.
The board wanted to know why lunch had been cancelled.
And Adrian wanted everything immediately.
She rubbed her forehead.
Then her phone rang.
"Executive office."
"Miss Bennett?"
"Yes?"
"Mr. Vale wants the security briefing moved to eleven."
Ayanda checked the schedule.
"He has an investor call at eleven."
"Move the investor call."
"The investors are already connected."
"Mr. Vale said to move it."
Ayanda took a breath.
"Then tell Mr. Vale the investor call can't simply disappear because he changed his mind."
Silence.
Three seconds later, her office door opened.
Adrian stood there.
The woman on the phone immediately hung up.
He looked at Ayanda.
"Did you refuse an instruction?"
"No."
"You told my assistant that my instruction was impossible."
"I said the investor call couldn't be moved without disrupting the meeting."
"You don't determine which instructions are convenient."
"No."
Ayanda stood.
"But I do have to manage the consequences of those instructions."
His expression hardened.
The office outside suddenly became very quiet.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Then manage them."
She held his gaze.
"I will."
"Good."
He turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
"Move the investor call to eleven-thirty."
Ayanda blinked.
"That's it?"
He looked over his shoulder.
"Did you expect a speech?"
"No."
"Then work."
He walked away.
Ayanda watched him disappear into his office.
She exhaled.
"Unbelievable."
From the other side of the room, Nathaniel's voice appeared.
"You're beginning to sound like him."
Ayanda turned.
"I sincerely hope not."
Nathaniel smiled.
"You'd be surprised."
12:34 p.m.
Adrian had skipped lunch.
Again.
Ayanda noticed the untouched meal outside his office.
She stared at it.
Then at his door.
Then back at the food.
She knocked.
"Come in."
She entered.
"You haven't eaten."
Adrian didn't look up.
"I'm aware."
"You've been working since before seven."
"I know."
"You should eat."
He finally raised his eyes.
"Is that part of your job?"
"No."
"Then don't make it one."
Ayanda folded her arms.
"Fine."
She placed a document on his desk.
"The investor briefing."
He opened it.
"Finished?"
"Yes."
He read through it.
Page after page.
His expression remained unreadable.
Finally:
"This is good."
Ayanda blinked.
"What?"
"The briefing."
"Oh."
She hadn't expected that.
Adrian continued reading.
"You anticipated three questions the investors are likely to ask."
"Yes."
"And you've prepared answers."
"Yes."
He looked at her.⁷
"Good."
It was a single word.
Yet coming from Adrian Vale, it sounded almost extravagant.
Ayanda nodded.
"Thank you."
She turned to leave.
"Ayanda."
She stopped.
"You're improving."
She glanced back.
"I've only been here two days."
"Exactly."
Then he returned to his work.
Conversation over.
Ayanda left.
Behind her, Adrian's eyes remained on the closed door for a moment longer than necessary.
Then he returned to his documents.
6:18 p.m.
The executive floor had emptied.
Ayanda was still working.
She looked at the clock.
6:18.
She gathered the final documents and walked toward Adrian's office.
His door was slightly open.
She knocked.
No answer.
"Mr. Vale?"
Silence.
She pushed the door open.
He wasn't there.
Ayanda placed the documents on his desk.
As she turned to leave, something caught her attention.
A photograph.
It was partially visible inside an open drawer.
The same photograph.
The one she'd seen yesterday.
Ayanda stopped.
She knew she shouldn't look.
She also knew that curiosity had already become one of her more unfortunate characteristics.
She stepped closer.
The photograph showed three people.
A younger Adrian.
A woman standing beside him.
And a man whose face had been damaged, either by age or deliberate tearing.
Ayanda's brow furrowed.
Who were they?
She reached toward the photograph.
"Was there something you needed?"
She froze.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
His expression was completely different.
Colder.
Harder.
Ayanda withdrew her hand.
"I came to leave the documents."
"You were told not to enter my office without permission."
"I knocked."
"You entered anyway."
"You didn't answer."
"That isn't permission."
"I know."
His eyes moved to the photograph.
Then back to her.
"What did you see?"
Ayanda hesitated.
"Three people."
His expression changed almost imperceptibly.
"That's all?"
"Yes."
"Good."
He walked to the desk and took the photograph.
Ayanda studied him.
"Who are they?"
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"That's not relevant to your position."
"I was curious."
"Curiosity is not a professional requirement."
"Neither is mystery."
His gaze snapped toward hers.
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then Adrian placed the photograph back inside the drawer.
"You should go home."
Ayanda nodded.
She reached the door.
Then stopped.
"You know, you don't have to treat every question like an interrogation."
Adrian looked at her.
"And you don't have to ask every question that occurs to you."
"Fair enough."
She opened the door.
"Goodnight."
She left.
Adrian remained standing beside his desk.
He looked at the drawer.
Then at the closed door.
His expression was unreadable.
After several seconds, he locked the drawer.
8:03 p.m.
Adrian's office was finally silent.
He sat alone beneath the dim lights.
The city glittered beyond the windows.
His phone vibrated.
An unfamiliar number.
He opened the message.
"She's working late."
Adrian's expression tightened.
Another message appeared.
"You should be more careful about who you let into your office."
He stared at the screen.
No name.
No explanation.
Just another warning.
He deleted the messages.
Then looked toward the corridor.
Ayanda was gone.
He told himself that was all that mattered.
There was no reason to think about the messages.
No reason to connect them to her.
No reason to become suspicious.
Yet something about the timing bothered him.
Not enough to act.
Not enough to accuse anyone.
Just enough to remember.
Adrian locked his phone.
Across the city, Ayanda stepped out of a taxi and looked back toward the distant Veyronis tower.
She had spent her second day wondering whether she had made the right decision.
She still didn't know.
But she knew one thing.
There was more to Adrian Vale than the ruthless CEO everyone saw.
And there was definitely more to Veyronis than appeared on the surface.
She just didn't know what it was yet.
And perhaps that was better.
Because some secrets were safer when they remained secrets.
At least for now.